Rain gutters have been used on structures for many years to collect the water run-off from the roof of the structure and to direct the water to a down spout so that the water may be led away from the structure. Problems have arisen with the water collection due to leaves, debris, etc., collecting in the rain gutters and interfering with the flow of water. The water may then overflow negating the purpose of the gutters, leakage into the foundation of the structure and rotting of wood adjoining the gutter.
In order to alleviate these problems, various devices have been disclosed which permit the gutters to be emptied periodically. Many of these approaches include means for tilting or inverting the rain gutter in order to empty the gutters. U.S. Pat. Nos. 510,515, 538,108, 984,716, 1,141,204, 3,630,473, 4,019,290, 4,061,151, 4,072,285, 4,116,008, 4,117,635, 4,441,108, 4,807,406 and 4,837,989 disclose this type of rain gutter. Some of these designs require specially designed gutters and complex tilting/rotating mechanisms. Most of the disclosed devices are relatively expensive and require special tooling for manufacture.
The hinge or pivoting mechanism required for a pivotable rain gutter has also been the subject of several U.S. Patents, namely U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,014,074, 4,309,792, 4,311,292, 4,413,449, 4,669,232, 4,745,657 and 4,813,190. These patents disclose substantially L-shaped brackets which are mounted vertically on the wall of the building, the lower leg of the bracket extending outwardly from the wall. The extremity of the lower leg has a hinge thereon to which is connected a second member. The gutter is attached to the second member by various means, differing in each reference. Several references disclose a fastener which penetrates the gutter. This feature aggravates corrosion and is a potential source of water leakage from the gutter. Other references disclose a strap-like member extending transversely across the top of the gutter. When the gutter is inverted to empty the debris which tends to felt or mat with the rise and fall of water in the gutter, the strap restricts movement of the debris and interferes with emptying of the gutter. Several of the references disclose members which are cut from aluminum or plastic extrusions which are specially tooled. The use of wire for support of a rain gutter has been disclosed and the use of wire to form a hinge has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 235,859, 236,124, 423,287, 430,596, 602,846, 826,257, 983,362, 1,258,503 and 1,288,026.
However, the prior references have not suggested nor disclosed a simple wire hinge for use with a pivoted rain gutter. All of the referenced hinge assemblies have inherent problems therein as noted above. There remains a need for a simple, low cost, easily produced hinge assembly which retains the integrity of the rain gutter without obstructing the emptying of the gutter.